Indirect negotiations aimed at securing a truce in Gaza between Hamas and Israel have entered their fifth day in Qatar, an official with knowledge of the talks has told AFP.

“Hamas and Israel remain in Qatar,” the official said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.

Mediators were “shuttling between the two sides to exchange ideas with the aim of closing the remaining gaps and maintaining momentum towards a deal”, the official added.

The current negotiations — taking place after 21 months of fighting and multiple previous rounds of talks that failed to yield a breakthrough — began in the capital Doha on Sunday, in hopes of clinching a deal based on a US-backed framework that envisages an initial 60-day truce.